“Fine,” she huffed as she turned for the door. “Every hour on the hour, right?”
He held the radio up. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t call me ma’am. That was mom.” She turned back and glared at him. “And I swear, if you say that I’m anything like her, I’ll beat you to death with my shoe.”
Hatcher slowly shook his head. “I would never.”
She narrowed her gaze at him before she turned back for the door. “First thing in the morning.”
“First thing,” he called to her retreating form. He watched her from the front window and when he was certain she was out of hearing range, he added, “Mom.”
Broussard pulled Carol to the side and lowered his voice. “We have to assume that we’ll be watched constantly.”
“And listened in on,” she added quietly.
“The plan is to do what we can. We’ll look at their data and if it correlates, we’ll combine it with our own. If we can do anything…”
“Then we do.” She met his gaze and added, “But if we can’t?”
He nodded slowly. “We play along. I get the impression that Higgins isn’t the brightest bulb. We string him along until we can figure out an escape.”
“Agreed.”
“But in the meantime, we need to gather as much data as possible on this new mutated virus.”
She shook her head. “I don’t follow.”
“We need to know if it’s transmittable. Can somebody who was a Zed, but is now cured, contract it? Can it be transmitted through blood, saliva, or a break in the skin.”
She nodded, her ponytail bobbing. “And whether somebody like us would be at risk. Uninfected, but exposed to the cure—”
“Exactly.” Andre sighed heavily and pulled her closer. “It would do us little good to escape if we run into somebody in that state.”
“Agreed.” She inhaled deeply, screwing up her courage. “Shall we, then?”
He nodded and reached for the door to the lab. “After you.”
Higgins spun and gave them his best smile. “I take it you’re rested and ready to begin?”
Broussard shook his head. “Not exactly rested, but we are ready.”
Carol handed Higgins the file for Dr. Punch. “We want her.”
Higgins looked at the file and gave them a blank stare. “That’s all?”
“And you,” Broussard added as he walked by the man, checking the equipment at his disposal.
“Well, that was practically a certainty,” Higgins stated proudly.
Carol turned and gave him a deadpan stare. “We only wanted you so that we wouldn’t have to waste time sending somebody else to you for supplies or to appropriate necessary equipment. You’re barely qualified to run a rural clinic lab.” She sighed animatedly. “I have no idea how you came to be employed with the CDC.”
Higgins stammered for a moment, his face flushing. “I’ll have you know that I—”
“Later,” Broussard interrupted. “For now, we need to see your data and copies of all of the tests you’ve run.”
Higgins tried to compose himself and fought through the fluster. “Of course. And I’ll have Dr. Punch brought in immediately.” He turned and pointed to a row of file cabinets. “The last cabinet on the left. It has all of our procedures and results.”
Broussard stepped past him and pulled the top drawer open. “I’ll start here.” He glanced at Carol. “Will you please take an inventory of the equipment and supplies? Give the list of necessaries to Dr. Higgins so he can get us supplied as soon as possible.”
“Of course.” Carol turned and shoulder checked Higgins as she walked by. “Excuse me,” she muttered as she went about chronicling the lab.
Higgins swallowed the anger that began to rise in his throat and turned for the door. “I’ll return shortly.” He gave Carol a nasty look. “But be aware that we may not actually be able to get everything you need.”
She paused and gave him a mock smile. “Yes, you will. If you want a cure for…this.” She turned and motioned to the infected behind the acrylic walls. “Otherwise, we can’t be held accountable.”
“Oh, and one other thing,” Broussard added casually. “Dr. Chaplain and myself have been trapped aboard a ship for the better part of this outbreak. In order to keep our minds sharp and our spirits up, we will require regular outings.”
“Wait...what?” Higgins stammered again.
“Outings. As in, go outside, stretch our legs, breathe fresh air.” He gave him a knowing look. “On the daily.”
“I can’t authorize such a thing.” Higgins swallowed hard. “You are…” he trailed off.
Broussard held a hand up to stop him. “Believe me, we know what our situation is. Regardless, we will require daily opportunities to decompress.” He stopped pulling the files and turned to face him. “Or you may have your goons come in and shoot us now.” He crossed his arms and raised a brow at the man. “However, be aware, that the only two people who might be able to find a cure for your politicians, are we two. If you kill us, you kill them.”
Higgins felt his jaw opening and closing but no words came out. His face flushed and he turned for the door. “I’ll see what I can do.”
After he left, Broussard gave Carol a knowing look and a quick smirk before turning back to the files.
“Good bluff,” she stated softly. “I hope they go for it.”
“As do I,” he whispered back.
Simon sat back in the passenger seat and pointed to the left. “Turn there.”
Lana gave him a confused look. “I thought we were going to the national park at Santa Fe?”
“We are.” Simon pointed to the left again. “But we have to make a stop first.”
She turned the large RV and slowly made her way up the street. “Hey…is that the grocery store we were at?”
“Yup.” Simon sat up and unbuckled his seat belt. “We need to stock up before we head for the hills.”
She pulled the RV directly in front of
